Constant Combat

Ramadi Podcast

This veteran-led podcast highlights the experiences of Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, starting with their harrowing 2004 deployment to Ramadi; a 9 month combat tour which resulted in the highest casualties in a single deployment - a deployment that most Americans have never heard about. Through candid conversations surrounding these events, the series also explores earlier experiences that shaped the Marines, emphasizing their grit, humor, and humanity while aiming to honor their stories authentically.

  1. 2D AGO

    A View from the Arches of Death - Will Nackers (part 1 of 2)

    Send a text From Mobile Assault Platoon 3, Will Knackers’ recalls his path from Kuwait’s staging grind to the convoy into Ramadi, onto the April 6 QRF chaos, house clears, near misses, and the July 1 blast that killed Sgt. Conde and sent Will on a medevac chain. While he doesn't always recall every detail, the stories he recounts are striking and emotional.  • Kuwait buildup and the long convoy north • First sights of Ramadi • Early IEDs and the March injuries timeline • April 6 ambush, QRF response, scattered street fights • House clearing dangers • April 7 contact and a sucking chest wound • Air support flashes and the April 10 bug hunt • July 1 IED, Sgt. Conde’s death, Will wounded • Medevac from Baghdad to Germany to home • Small-world moments and lasting takeaways If you like what you've heard, this is a multi-part episode. Make sure you listen to the rest of the story ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above. All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

    50 min

  2. 2D AGO

    A View from the Arches of Death - Will Nackers (part 2 of 2)

    Send a text Part 2 with Will Nackers about getting wounded in Ramadi, being evacuated across continents alone, and returning stateside to a system that offered questionable medicine with no follow-up. Humor in the hooch, shifting tactics, near-miss stories, and the weight of legacy close a deep story from this Marine. • abrupt battlefield evac with no debrief • wet-to-dry dressings, painful debridement, no PT • rejoining the platoon • hooch humor, Xbox, stale brownies • mortar strikes, tarp roofs, sandstorms, heat • designated marksman mindset • javelins, high-back Humvees, adaptation • breaching plans and Army EOD takeover • leadership lessons from Sgt Conde • recognition, reunions, and carrying legacy ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above. All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

    51 min

  3. FEB 18

    The Fuchsia Feather - Kyle Mader (part 1 of 3)

    Send a text Kyle Mader kept a detailed journal and recounts his path from late arrival on ship to the workup grind, the convoy through Kuwait and Iraq, and two violent days that defined early Ramadi. Street fighting on Easy Street, shifting rules of engagement, and the game changer of an ACOG in gunfights. • joining 2/4 Weapons Company and team makeup • March Air Force Base lanes, MOUT, IED briefs • flight delays, New Jersey layover, Kuwait staging • convoy north, Junction City, Hurricane Point setup • guard on North and South Bridge, spotlight “games” • first IED hits and rising threat awareness • April 6 contact • April 7 urban fight with an RPG near-miss • ROE shifts under pressure and target ID • ambulances, taxis, motorbikes used for fighters • Mark 19 impacts and battlefield aftermath • ACOG accuracy, NVG lessons • photos, journals, and sharing the archive If you like what you've heard, this is a multi part episode. Make sure you listen to the rest of the story. ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above. All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

    1h 1m

  4. FEB 18

    The Fuchsia Feather - Kyle Mader (part 2 of 3)

    Send a text Part two with Kyle Mader: gear that mattered, raids that tested nerve, and the twin blasts that changed the platoon. Between a Gunny tossing back a grenade and Oliver North linking the city to Hue, the story moves from gallows humor to loss without losing the thread of what kept people alive. • ACOGs proving their worth under fire • Operation County Fair • Lioness program origins • Bug Hunt rooftop contacts • Oliver North’s urban warfare lens and Vietnam parallels • Chow hall rules • May 1st IED with a concussion, shrapnel, and chaos management • Casualty reporting gaps and family notification strain • May 12 IED detailed account of the aftermath and Savage's death If you like what you've heard this is a multi part episode make sure you listen to the rest of the story ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above. All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

    52 min

  5. FEB 18

    The Fuchsia Feather - Kyle Mader (part 3 of 3)

    Send a text Part 3 closes with Kyle Mader's memory that unfolds in sharp scenes: near-miss IEDs, a pit of scorpions, hotel firefights, and the long ride home that finally let the breath out. He closes with a little barracks humor, and how talking always made the weight lighter for him. • field injuries and improvised care, including acupuncture relief • a scorpion scare • sniper aftermath  • police stations bombed amid a fragile handover • hotel firefight with Bradleys • wild dogs, mortars, smoke pit rituals, and pig Latin humor • leadership friction, communication failures, and fatal consequences • leaving Ramadi and the feel of going home • transition, therapy, and a clear view of stress versus disorder ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above. All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

    51 min

  6. FEB 13

    Chaos, Culture, and Carrot Cake - Chris Kackley (part 1 of 2)

    Send a text Chris Kackley tells how a three‑day stop in Hawaii turned into short detour on the way to Ramadi, how broken and inadequate gear forced us to improvise, and why the bond we built now powers some late‑night calls and reunions. Humor and hard lessons come from Chris as he revisits bridges, raids, and the rules that kept shifting. • WhatsApp and Facebook as our modern radio net • Reunion plans and why dates matter • The Marine bond across eras and the birthday culture • Boot camp to SOI to Hawaii to Iraq in days • Broken flights, hangars, and C‑141s • Sandbags, Kevlar blankets, taped Maglights, improvised slings • Early Ramadi missions, ROE shifts • Night raids, cordons, and battalion‑wide ops • Bridge posts and bored Marines • Why Ramadi was underreported compared with Fallujah • Backyard mount towns and adaptation If you like what you've heard, this is a multi part episode. Make sure you listen to the rest of the story. ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above. All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

    59 min

  7. FEB 13

    Chaos, Culture, and Carrot Cake - Chris Kackley (part 2 of 2)

    Send a text Part two with Chris Kackley of Mobile Assault Platoon 1.  Chris tells a volatile slice of Ramadi: from a rooftop firefight to a near-miss RPG, and several good leadership examples that made the difference. Kackley also remembers some humorous hooch life, care packages, camp guard... and moments of honoring friends who didn’t come home. • riding with Oliver North and engaging from a stadium rooftop • rare air support overhead and lessons learned after contact • early April raids and the long waits that followed • IED strikes, an RPG near miss, and split-second decisions • heat, fleas, lost AC units • chow lines, MREs, and care packages • posts, river defenses, and unreliable local partners • weapons caches, disabled rifles, and strange battlefield finds • honoring the fallen through family ties and yearly acts of service ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above. All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

    52 min

  8. FEB 9

    A Chiefs Logbook - Manuel Gonzales (part 1 of 2)

    Send a text Manny Gonzalez talks about his third deployment in 4 years. This time to Ramadi as a combat replacement. He went from advising a Marine Corps video game to landing in Ramadi and learning the Mark 19 overnight. The story moves through shifting IED tactics, hard losses, small wins, and the leaders who kept him steady. • combat casualty replacement orders  • reflections as on the invasion as a mortarmen • rapid shift to patrols, raids, overwatch and medevac • evolving IED threats, pressure plates and trip beams • arrival in Ramadi, early KIA and Fox wounded • water tower blast, VBIED mass casualty and triage • Mark 19 crash course with Ritchie and Coleman’s morale leadership • door‑kicking failures, stealth OP exfil and restraint • sniper ambush impact and rising tempo of attacks • daily life notes, mortar fire on Hurricane Point  If you like what you've heard, this is a multi part episode. Make sure you listen to the rest of the story. ---------------------------------------------- If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088 If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above. All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM

    1h 4m
See All (52)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

This veteran-led podcast highlights the experiences of Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, starting with their harrowing 2004 deployment to Ramadi; a 9 month combat tour which resulted in the highest casualties in a single deployment - a deployment that most Americans have never heard about. Through candid conversations surrounding these events, the series also explores earlier experiences that shaped the Marines, emphasizing their grit, humor, and humanity while aiming to honor their stories authentically.

Information

  • Creator
    Ramadi Podcast
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    52
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Constant Combat
  • Show Website
    Constant Combat

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